Surfaces such as floors in structures such as office buildings, residences and the like generally require the application of a coating of wax for preservation, appearance, etc., and the application of wax to floors of wood, asphalt, vinyl asbestos, vinyl tile, marble, and terrazzo is a wide-spread practice. Usually such floors, particularly floors of relatively large area, require the utilization of a motor-driven, hand-guided machine provided with a pad of suitable material for varied uses such as the application of wax, buffing, scouring, and the like. When the wax to be applied to the floor is in paste form, such present-day machines utilize a steel wool pad which is formed by sewing steel wool together to form a pad or by rolling steel wool into a circular shape at the job site to form the pad. The use of such a steel wool pad is characterized by a number of disadvantages. For instance, such a steel wool pad frays very quickly and rusts, so that its useful life is extremely short. Furthermore, such a steel wool pad throws steel wool lint over the floor being treated, which must ultimately be removed and can even interfere with the surfacing operation. Furthermore, the use of such steel wool often causes the floor to carbon-burn or blacken.
Another technique for treating floors involves a method known as spray buffing, commonly employed to maintain a floor that has previously received an application of a liquid wax or finish. Such a spray buffing operation generally utilizes a nylon pad which is attached to a floor machine, the nylon pad containing a gritty substance on the surface for abrasion. A spray buff solution is then prepared using part floor finish or wax and water. The operator operates the machine with the pad attached while spraying a fine mist on the floor. Such a spray buffing operation is utilized to remove scuff and black heel marks and to reshine the floor. The use of a nylon pad for such a spray buffing operation has many drawbacks. The nylon pad cannot be washed out easily, and the abrasive material of the pad is quickly exhausted, requiring frequent replacement of the pads. Furthermore, when using high-speed machines for such a spray buffing operation which rotate up to 250 rpm or higher, the surface of the pad tends to become clogged with floor finish or wax, and because of the heat generated will drag and stick to the floor, causing the machine to heat up and blow circuit breakers to interrupt the operation.
A nylon pad is also used with such floor machines for another operation, which involves the stripping off of wax or finish from a floor. This stripping operation is accomplished by applying hot soap and water to the floor and then abrading the floor finish or wax off the floor, utilizing the nylon pad attached to the floor machine. Again, the use of such a nylon pad for a stripping operation is characterized by a rapid wearing out of the abrasive material, requiring frequent pad replacement. In addition, many commercially available nylon pads are not cut accurately, which often causes the high-speed floor machine to wobble with attendant operator fatigue.